It’s no surprise the UFC opted to fire Rousimar (Toquinho) Palhares for his actions at UFC Fight Night 29 in Barueri, Brazil Wednesday.

In his welterweight debut, Palhares made quick work of Mike Pierce, slapping on a vicious heel hook only seconds into the fight. However, even after the former NCAA Division I wrestler had tapped out, and referee Keith Peterson intervened, the leg-lock specialist refused to immediately relinquish the hold.

Not only is Palhares now a free agent as a result of his actions, he’s also been suspended by the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) for 120 days.

Some will argue Palhares is a dirty fighter with a laundry list of infractions and downright bizarre behaviour. Others will defend the fighter, stating that he simply comes from a traditional Brazilian jiu jitsu culture.

It turns out both parties are likely correct.

Though he’s one of the most dynamic ground fighters in mixed martial arts, it’s clear Palhares struggles to hit the off switch when necessary.

According to his manager, Alex Davis, there was no malicious intent towards Pierce.

“We have talked about it at length,” Davis told MMAJunkie.com. “The one thing I can certify is that Rousimar does not hold on to a sub out of malice. It’s unconscious, a mix of adrenaline and years of being conditioned to not let go.

“It might be hard for people to understand that don’t know Rousimar personally, but I’m telling you, he holds on out of instinct. He only realizes it afterward.”

Of course, this isn’t the first time Palhares has displayed dirty tactics.

At UFC 111 in early 2010, a similar scenario played out after Palhares locked Tomasz Drwal in a gruesome heel hook. He was subsequently suspended for 90 days.

During a bout against Dan Miller at UFC 134 in 2011, Palhares dropped the American grappler with a high kick and unloaded with brief ground-and-pound before scaling the cage fence in celebration, even though referee Herb Dean hadn’t stopped the fight. Dean then had to talk Palhares down from his perch in order to restart the action.

Moments later, Palhares delivered a pair of illegal punches after the first-round horn had already sounded. The first strike may have been accidental, but the second was as egregious as it gets.

Palhares’ transgressions have also extended outside the UFC banner.

While competing in the 2011 ADCC Submission Wrestling World Championship, where he won silver in the 88-kilogram division, Palhares fell back into a heel hook attempt against David Avellan (http://tinyurl.com/rp-adcc).

Avellan rolled out of bounds, causing the referee to yell for both fighters to stop grappling. Palhares appeared to briefly let go before giving the hold another crank for good measure.

Thinking he’d won the match, Palhares smacked Avellan in the head and went in for a celebratory hug, causing a visibly frustrated Avellan to shove him in return. Palhares then appeared baffled why his opponent was incensed with him.

While competing in Brazil in 2007, Palhares also delivered a pair of controversial finishes in consecutive fights with Helio Dipp Jr. and Flavio Luiz Moura, refusing to relinquish a rear-naked choke (http://tinyurl.com/rp-dipp) and heel hook (http://tinyurl.com/rp-moura), respectively.

Palhares’s behaviour can at least partly be attributed to his former coach, onetime UFC middleweight champion Murilo Bustamante.

During a title defence against Matt Lindland at UFC 37 in 2002, Bustamante was forced to submit the 2000 Olympic wrestling silver-medal winner twice in order to get his hand raised.

After Lindland tapped out to a first-round armbar, referee John McCarthy stepped in. Lindland then protested the stoppage, claiming he never submitted, prompting McCarthy the restart the fight. Bustamante then went on to win the bout via guillotine choke in the third.

Since then Bustamante changed his philosophy on submissions, opting to hold on until victory was certain. He then instilled this approach in Palhares.

Regardless of whether or not Palhares intends to injure opponents, the UFC has clearly come to view him as a liability. All it takes is one solid crank on a heel hook to completely tear a fighter’s knee apart and potentially end his career.

Until Palhares matures inside the cage, it’s highly unlikely he will ever be welcomed back to the world’s largest MMA promotion.

In this regard, Davis said Palhares is still a work in progress.

“I can attest to the fact that Rousimar is a very simple, humble and well-meaning person,” Davis told MMA Junkie. “This is not malice but instinct, nature of the beast.

“That said, we need to keep on working on it. Rousimar used to hurt people in training, but he has become very controlled now. Now we need to work on the fights, work on keeping him conscious rather than just automatic.”

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UPCOMING CARDS

- Bellator 104 goes down Fri., Oct. 18 in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and features the semifinals of this season’s welterweight tourney, as Rick Hawn meets Brent Weedman and Ron Keslar faces War Machine. Also, K-1 veteran Peter Graham debuts against Eric Prindle. The show will air on Spike TV.

- UFC 166 takes place Sat., Oct. 19 in Houston. The main event will see the heavyweight championship rubber match between Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos. Also, Daniel Cormier battles Roy Nelson and Gilbert Melendez takes on Diego Sanchez. The card will be available on pay-per-view.

- Bellator 105 is set for Fri., Oct. 25 in Rio Rancho, N.M. and will be headlined by this season’s lightweight semifinals, as Saad Awad rematches Will Brooks and Alexander Sarnavskiy squares off with Ricardo Tirloni. The event will be broadcast on Spike TV.

Fired Rousimar Palhares has long list of dirty tricks

It’s no surprise the UFC opted to fire Rousimar (Toquinho) Palhares for his actions at UFC Fight Night 29 in Barueri, Brazil Wednesday.

In his welterweight debut, Palhares made quick work of Mike Pierce, slapping on a vicious heel hook only seconds into the fight. However, even after the former NCAA Division I wrestler had tapped out, and referee Keith Peterson intervened, the leg-lock specialist refused to immediately relinquish the hold.

Not only is Palhares now a free agent as a result of his actions, he’s also been suspended by the Comissao Atletica Brasileira de MMA (CABMMA) for 120 days.

Some will argue Palhares is a dirty fighter with a laundry list of infractions and downright bizarre behaviour. Others will defend the fighter, stating that he simply comes from a traditional Brazilian jiu jitsu culture.